Error 404: Baby Data Not Found
by lwil3876
Summary: In an alternate universe, a human Donnie finds a baby on his doorstep one morning before work, and his life is changed forever. How will his brothers react to a baby simply known as Michelangelo? How different will their life be?
1. Chapter 1

The Friday that everything changed had started out normally enough. At 5:30AM, Donatello groggily hit the alarm clock, afraid of waking up Leonardo. He knew that Leo would be awake in 30 minutes, but he hated waking his older brother—not to mention that the older Hamato brother had the temper of Raphael when he was woken before he was ready. Getting out of bed, the brunette crept out of their bedroom, passing Raph's room on his way to the bathroom. It didn't surprsise him that Raphael wasn't home yet. 'Damn vigilante,' Donnie thought, flipping on the bathroom light, wetting his toothbrush even as he started the shower. Fifteen minutes later, Donnie was startled by pounding on the bathroom door.

"Hurry up, Don! I have to get ready for work, too!" Leo yelled gruffly; it was an exchange that happened every morning, but Donnie still hadn't gotten any quicker at his routine.

"All yours, Leo," Donnie said, opening the door. "Lunch is in the fridge. I'll see you when I get home," he continued, throwing his purple towel into the hamper before navigating the short hallway to the kitchenette. The small 2 bedroom apartment wasn't much, but the three brothers were almost never home anyway. Grabbing his sack lunch of peanut butter and jelly, Donnie opened the apartment door...and a streak of orange caught his eye.

Looking down, the brunette saw that it was a baby blanket, complete with baby. Big blue, innocent eyes stared into brown ones, almost pleadingly. Donnie tentatively picked up the infant, watching as the blue eyes closed and the baby cuddled into his arm. Going back into the apartment, Donnie set his lunch on the counter, slowly rocking the baby in his arms.

The bathroom door opened just then, revealing Leo, wearing nothing but a blue towel. "What in God's name is that?" Leo asked, pointing to the orange bundle.

"It's a baby, Leo. I found it outside the door. I think I'm going to call him…Michaelangelo."

"We can't keep him, Donnie! He's a baby, not a dog! We have to take him to an orphanage!" Leo yelled, pulling on pants and walking toward the pair, moisture still on his upper body, glinting in the dim apartment light.

"They don't have orphanages anymore, Leo. The state controls that stuff now," Donnie explained quietly, afraid of waking the tiny bundle in his arms.

"Then we have to turn him over to the state," Leo explained, only lowering his voice after a sharp glare from his younger brother.

"And what good will that do? He'll go through the system. People don't adopt anymore, Leo. There's technology that will help have a baby. I think he has a better chance here," Donnie challenged stubbornly.

Running a hand through his still-wet brown hair, Leo sighed, holding his hand out the baby. Blue eyes blinked up at him, and he knew in that moment that this little baby would get whatever he wanted. "Fine. But he's your responsibility, Don. I have to get to work. When I get home, we'll figure something out about where to keep him."

Pulling out his cell phone, Donnie quickly dialed in the number that he had hoped he would never have to use. "Britton Technology, how may I direct your call?" a pleasant voice answered.

"This is Donatello Hamato. I need you to get me over to Rachael Hamm, right away," Donnie said quietly, almost in a whisper. Michaelangelo had gone back to sleep for the moment.

"Don? This is Rachael. What's wrong?" his manager asked a few minutes later. Even though she outranked him, Donatello held more seniority; he knew he was the best on the phones, so had passed up that promotion, nominating Rachael instead.

"I have a...situation," Donnie began, looking down at the bundle once more. "I need to start working from home, starting tomorrow. I will be taking today off, but need everything delivered and set up while I'm out of the house. Can you send three people over to do that? I know we're overstaffed today, so it shouldn't be a problem." Donnie continued, pacing the small living room.

"Sure, Don. Right away. Will you be there when they get there?"

"No, but I won't be out long. If you send Tienemann, he knows where the spare key is, and how to get into the building."

"Bruce Tienemann? I didn't know you two were friendly," Rachael said, jotting the name down on a post-it.

"Just send him and two others," Donnie said before disconnecting the call, his panicked mind momentarily getting the best of him.

Five minutes later, the brunette found himself in front of Babies R Us, steeling himself to go inside. Michaelangelo was curled in the crook of his arm, one chubby hand wrapped around his bright orange blanket.

'What do babies even need?' he thought to himself.

"First time father? It's so good that you're doing some shopping with your new addition. Usually it's the mother that does the shopping. What are you looking for today?" a friendly blond-haired woman asked as he tentatively took a step inside.

"E-everything, I guess," Donnie mumbled, looking around in confusion.

"So you have...nothing...for the baby?" the woman, whose name tag read Wanda, asked, making a face that plainly showed how unusual this was.

"It was rather sudden that he came to me..." Donnie hastily tried to explain.

"Okay, fair enough. I won't pry. We'll get you the essentials today: bottles, pacifiers, clothes, a car seat and stroller, a crib or bassinette, diapers and wipes, a changing table, a baby bathtub, a baby carrier, bottle cleaners and burp clothes, bibs, a high chair, baby bowls and spoons, baby food, and a bouncy seat," she explained, consulting a checklist and grabbing a cart. "Now, did you have any specific colors or themes in mind?"

"Orange. I'd like some orange in everything," Donnie explained, his mind racing nervously. "I-I guess maybe some purple, blue and red, as well," he continued, watching as Wanda made a notation on the checklist.

"And is the little one a boy or a girl?"

"Boy-he's a boy," Donnie answered, following the blond as she began to walk away, after fastening the baby in the cart as best he could.

"Our first stop will be bottles and highchairs. We'll also grab some baby food while we're in this section. The best bottles are BPA free, and you'll need some formula as well. The formula that I'd recommend is Enfamil powdered formula. The one that we'll want to try is Enfamil Infant, designed for newborns through 12 months, although some parents start giving their children baby food at around 4 to 6 months. It's best to get a little of both," Wanda explained, putting a large container of formula in the cart and moving to baby food.

"The best thing for baby food is variety, but not too much," Wanda explained, grabbing two cans of carrots, string beans, apples, peaches, sweet potatoes, peas, and adding them to the cart. "We also need some bottles and cleaners. We have a great selection of orange-themed items, along with some of the other colors you mentioned," Wanda said, gesturing to a three pack of bottles with sea creatures on them. Looking at the selection in front of him, Donnie grabbed two three-packs of geometric shapes, with multiple colors on them. Wanda added them to the cart, grabbing two bottle brushes as well.

"We also need a high chair. I suggest a 4-in-1 high chair that will grow as your son does. The Graco Antiquity line is exceptional," Wanda suggested, gesturing to the boxes of high chairs. Selecting a neutral brown, Donnie added it to the cart, careful not to disturb Mikey. Grabbing an array of mainly orange bibs, Donnie threw them into the cart as well, along with some burp towels.

"Alright. Next up on our list is...pacifiers and a car seat. Pacifiers are typically the easiest thing to pick out, and many car seats are sold with strollers," Wanda explained, even as Donnie took 3 3-packs of pacifiers and put them into the cart, along with a baby first aid kit. Manuevering the cart to the strollers, Donnie looked up at the selection. As many high chairs as there had been, there must have been double that amount with car seats and strollers. "Now, these are like high chairs; some are convertible. My suggestion is the GB Evoq Travel System," Wanda explained, watching as Donnie put it in the cart without hesitation. He also grabbed a front baby carrier, choosing a neutral gray as Wanda checked it off of the list.

"Next up we have a crib or basinette, whichever you'd prefer?"

"Basinette, please," Donnie requested, pointing the cart in that direction.

"Alright, what I'd recommend for a basinette is going to be a rocking basinette, like this one," Wanda explained, pointing out a gliding basinette and watching as Donnie muscled it into the cart, checking on the still-sleeping baby.

"Next we have diapers. Since he is about a month old, he needs size 1 diapers. Personally, I like Swaddlers," Wanda explained, watching as Donnie grabbed two big boxes of diapers, along with some wipes to go with them.

"Great! We're almost done. A changing table is next, then a bathtub, and finally clothes, and then you and your little man will be all set!" Wanda exclaimed, grabbing a second cart and leading the way to the changing tables.

Donnie grabbed a brown changing table, heaving the box into Wanda's cart before making his way to the baby bathing section of the store. Picking up a bathtub with hues of orange, Donnie moved on to baby shampoo, putting a bottle in Wanda's cart and moving towards the baby towels. Grabbing 2 2-packs of hooded towels, the brunette also grabbed some washcloths and baby powder before pointing his cart toward the baby clothes at Wanda's direction.

"Clothes are the hardest part. You'll need onesies, shoes, socks, mittens, hats, outerwear, sleepwear, and outfits." Wanda explained, pointing out each section before leaving Donnie alone with the clothing options before him.

A short while later, after being shown how to strap in Mikey, Donnie was on his way home, spending more money in one afternoon than he usually did in a month. Pulling into the parking lot of his building, Don saw that Bruce, Teddy, and Will were all standing around, obviously waiting for him. "Hey guys, help me carry all this in, will ya?" Don asked, grabbing the car seat and some bags for himself.

"A baby?! That's why you have to work from home?" Will asked incredously.

"He's my responsibility, Will," Donnie answered, gesturing to the things that still needed to be taken inside.

"You? A father?" Teddy asked incredously, hefting the basinette onto his shoulder and picking up the last of the bags.

"I found him this morning, outside my apartment," Donnie explained, following Teddy up the stairs.

"So why aren't you taking him to a fire station?"

"Because he wouldn't have a chance that way, Teddy. At least this way I can take care of him, make sure he's okay." As if on cue, Mikey opened his bright blue eyes, surveying the new world he suddenly found himself in.


	2. Chapter 2

In the apartment, boxes dominated any available space, bags strewn throughout the place. Teddy, Bruce, and Will had set up Donatello's workstation in a corner of the living room, complete with his desktop collection of figures and everything that had once been on his cubicle wall, now taped haphazardly to his apartment walls, hanging crookedly beside his two monitors.

"We've got to set everything up, guys, put things away. You'll help, right?" Donnie asked, turning on the trio standing the kitchen and looking around, trying to compute just how much space they had available.

"Why do we gotta help?! This isn't our job description!" Will burst out, his rough voice a contrast to Donnie's quiet one.

"Shhh! You'll wake up Mikey! And you'll do it because Rachael's paying you to be here and do whatever I need. And right now, I need everything set up and put away...right after I change Mikey's diaper." Donnie hissed, suddenly unsure again, his eyes widening as Mikey began to wail from his carseat.

"You've never changed a diaper, Don. Let me show you how it's done. After three kids, I'm the best there is," Teddy offered, chuckling as he picked up Mikey and a box of diapers and a container of wipes.

Once the baby was on Donnie's bed, Teddy turned to Donnie once more. "The first diaper is always the worst. It'll get better in time, though. I'm going to walk you through it, but don't be surprised if he pees on you...or worse," the other man warned with a low chuckle.

The little baby boy giggled as if he had heard what Teddy was saying and understood. As Donnie was undoing the diaper he was currently wearing, he swore that the baby had a sparkle in his big blue eyes. As soon as the diaper was off, Donnie knew that he was in trouble. Before he could even reach for the new diaper, he was hit with a warm stream of urine.

"Michelangelo!" Donnie said, his brow beginning to furrow in anger.

"It's not his fault...it's a reflex that some babies have. After you're done changing him, go take a shower. I'll put him in some new clothes and feed him for you," Teddy offered, his eyes sympathetic.

Donnie nodded-it had felt like years since he'd had a shower, rather than earlier that morning. After passing the baby to Teddy, Donnie grabbed his purple towel and headed to the bathroom, leaving everyone to their tasks.

In the living room, Teddy dug through bag after bag of baby clothes until he found what he wanted-a sleeper. Slipping it on the baby, he discarded the onesie that Mikey had been found with and looked around the apartment. The living room was by far the biggest room in the apartment, followed by the kitchen. There was a little eat-in nook in the kitchen that no one was using, so the brothers had used it as storage instead. There were two beds in Donnie's room, and one in the other room that the trio knew to be Raphael's. Putting the baby back in his car seat, Teddy turned to the other two men.

"Okay. Let's start with putting together the biggest things: the changing table, bassinette, and high chair. I'm thinking the high chair can go here-" Teddy began, gesturing to some wall space next to the archway leading to the living room. "The changing table will go in Don's room, along with the bassinette. That means that Leo would have to move in with Raph, which would never work. Unless..." his voice trailed off as he eyed the eat-in area.

"You want Don to sleep out here?!" Bruce hissed in a low whisper, his eyes flashing fiercly.

"Think about it. He'll have more room out here than he would in his own room. And that way, his brothers don't have to move. There's plenty of storage space and it's close to the kitchen and the bathroom, so Don doesn't have to navigate too far." Teddy explained tensely, almost as if he were challenging the other man.

"It does make sense..." Will conceded slowly, dragging the changing table box over to the new bedroom and opening the first box that was stored there.

"Trying to make room for the stupid baby?" Raph suddenly snapped, appearing from behind Will.

"Yes. We thought this way no one would have to move rooms except for Donnie," Teddy began to explain.

"Hey, whatever. I want no part of this stupid baby thing that Don has. If he wants a kid, fine. Maybe I want a life too, huh?" he snapped.

"Raph, go to bed. No one's asking you to help. Besides, you don't have to be around Michelangelo if you don't want to," Donnie explained, walking into the room in fresh clothes.

"Michelangelo? What kinda name is that?" Raph asked sullenly, loudly pulling his bedroom door closed behind him. Grabbing a piece of lettuce, the redhead held it in his turtle's tank, waiting for him to come and get it. "Come on, Spike. I know you're hungry," the 20-year-old said softly, his eyes softening as he saw his beloved pet coming towards the lettuce.

In the living room, Donnie was helping move the boxes in the kitchen nook to where his old bed was in Leo's room while the guys were setting up the baby furniture. With everyone working, it didn't take long to have the nook cleared out and Donnie's bed in place. Looking at the changing table doubtfully, Donnie glanced back to his nook. "Where am I going to keep his clothes?" he asked softly.

"Don't worry about that. I've got an old baby dresser that Jack used to have. I'll bring it over tonight," Teddy offered, positioning the changing table opposite the bed and helping Will roll over the basinette while Bruce slid the high chair into place. Opening a bag filled with bottles, Teddy gestured for Donnie to follow him.

In the kitchen, he grabbed a pot and filled it with water, turning on the stove before turning to Donnie. "Before you use bottles or pacifiers, you'll want to boil them to make sure they're sterilized," he explained, dropping the bottles and pacifiers into the hot water. "I'm sure the little guy's hungry, so I'll show you how to prepare a bottle. Once you get the hang of it, it's pretty easy," he continued.  
>"Is there anything else you may have forgotten at the store, Don?" Will asked, suddenly reappearing.<p>

Donnie began to shake his head no when Teddy spoke up. "He still needs a diaper bag and some baby toys, and a playpen, and then he should be set," he said, before turning back to his boiling baby supplies.

Nodding, Will quietly exited the apartment, leaving Teddy to show Donnie how to make Mikey's bottle while Bruce sorted out the remaining stuff, piling everything onto Donnie's bed.


	3. Chapter 3

Will kicked himself as he walked into Babies R Us. Why had he decided that he would help Don out? It wasn't like he knew what he was doing with a baby. Or even where to find toys for one, or a diaper bag, for that matter. Hell, the only reason he'd gotten to the store in one piece was because of his GPS. Looking around the store, completely helpless, Will began to wander, following the signs for diapers and diaper accessories.  
>"New dad?" a deep voice asked from his right as he wandered the aisles. Looking over, Will saw a tall, burly man carrying a toddler. 'In a few years, that will be Donnie…' he thought to himself, almost helplessly. Looking into the man's green eyes and glancing over his stubbled chin, Will could only shake his head no.<br>"More like…an uncle….I guess. My buddy just got a baby and I'm making a last-minute run for him," he explained, his cheeks flushing red.  
>"I recognized the helpless look. What're you after? My name is Chris, by the way. Chris Bradford. This little one is Peter," Chris asked, rubbing the toddler's back.<br>"I need a diaper bag, and some toys. And a playpen," Will explained , glancing down at his list, noticing a hastily scrawled entry on the very bottom. "And…and a diaper genie, whatever that is," he finished, defeat in his voice.  
>"That's not bad at all. What's the little guy's name?" Chris asked, putting his now-sleeping toddler in his stroller and leading the way to the diaper bags and diaper genies.<br>"M-Michelangelo."  
>"You should have grabbed a cart…I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name." Chris replied kindly.<br>"W-Will. Will Ward."  
>"No worries, Will. You can use my cart. We're just out to get Pete some more toys. Grab a diaper bag and a diaper genie really quick. It doesn't matter what color or brand. Then we'll shop for toys together and then we'll grab you a playpen." Chris explained, flashing his winning smile once more.<br>After selecting a neutral brown diaper bag and the first diaper genie he saw, Will nodded to Chris and the pair made their way to the toys, Chris gently waking Peter from his nap.  
>"Toys!" the 3-year-old yelled, running for the playmat in the center of the department.<br>"How old is Michelangelo?" Chris asked suddenly, stopping short of picking up stuffed building blocks.  
>"U-Umm…I would say about a-a mo-about a month," Will replied, nervously rubbing the back of his neck.<br>"So he's going to need toys for tummy time," Chris replied, throwing stuffed toys and soft books into the cart, along with toys for his own son. "Now…a playpen. What colors is your buddy wanting?"  
>"Well…he has a lot of orange…." Will explained as Chris hefted an all-orange playpen into the cart.<br>"Papa! Papa! Bird!" Pete yelled, running up to the pair, a stuffed bird in his chubby hands.  
>"He loves birds. Throw it in, champ," Chris said, watching as Pete tried to get the toy in the cart.<br>Five minutes later, the trio was walking out to the car, Will trying to give money to Chris. "I told you that I would handle it. I'd love to meet the little guy, though. Maybe you can set up a playdate?" Chris asked, loading everything into Will's compact car before heading towards his own pickup truck.  
>"You have my number?" Will asked.<br>"You gave it to the cashier for the email club, remember, goof?" Chris asked, laughing as he got Pete situated in his car seat.  
>"I'll text you!" he yelled as his truck started and pulled out of the parking lot, leaving Will to get into his own car and drive towards Donnie's place. He definitely wanted to see Chris again…maybe he would take him up on his offer of a playdate.<br>Unloading his car, the raven-haired man struggled upstairs until he opened the door to the apartment, Teddy and Bruce rushing to help him get everything in, his mind still in a whirl. Maybe babies weren't so bad…


	4. Chapter 4

Later that evening, after Donnie had gotten Mikey back to sleep (and successfully changed his first messy diaper), he went online to do some research. He knew that parenting was going to be a tough chore, and one that he didn't want to fail at. He was on his laptop when Leonardo came in, at 8:00.

"Late day at the office?" he asked eagerly, looking up from the parenting forum he had been perusing for the past hour.

"Yeah...I guess you decided that we're keeping Michelangelo?" Leo asked, glancing around at the new additions to the apartment.

"Yes. Raph isn't too happy about it, but he'll get over it, sooner or later," Donnie sighed.

"So...why is your bed out here now?" the oldest sibling asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I decided that I'm going to be taking care of the little guy, and I wasn't going to cramp the bedroom any more than it already was. Besides, you deserve it. Will left dinner in the fridge for you, by the way." Donnie reasoned, going back to the article he was reading on colic.

"Will made dinner?"

"Well, kind of. He grabbed a pizza and ate here before heading home," Donnie answered without looking up.

"Right. Well...thanks, Donatello. Hopefully Raph doesn't wake Michelangelo when he comes in," Leo replied before disappearing into his room and changing into pajamas before falling onto his bed, exhausted.

Putting his laptop away for the moment, Donatello pulled the blankets over him, hoping that the baby would sleep longer than most people said he would, yet somehow knowing he wouldn't. He had to appreciate these small naps that Michelangelo was affording him; the forums told him so.


	5. Chapter 5

The weekend came with no special fanfare, or any major tantrums by Raphael. Michelangelo decidedly liked Donatello better than Leonardo, but was not saying no to taking a nap in his older uncle's arms. Raphael still did not look at the baby if he could avoid it, and definitely not for more than a few seconds at a time.

Donnie had joined numerous forums and websites in the single day that Donatello had had the baby. For each website or forum that he joined, it seemed, Raphael had a different idea or reason not to keep the baby-up to and including dropping him off at the animal shelter. "I'm sure they could do a bundle package-adopt a baby and get a free puppy!" he had reasoned.

Leonardo had glowered at Raphael each time a new suggestion was thrown out-Donatello just sighed in frustration. The parenting forums stayed up permanently on his laptop, along with an adoption agency informational website open in another tab. He didn't know why he still had it open-a quick search had revealed that he had to prove that Michelangelo's parents had abandoned him, and that typically it took a year to do that. The baby still had 11 months to go.

Saturday morning was normal, for the most part; Donnie was feeding Mikey while searching the forums, Leo was trying to make breakfast, and Raph was nowhere in sight. "Do you think he'll ever come around?" Donnie asked, not looking up from what he was doing.

Leo sighed; he didn't know how to answer that question, in all honesty. "I'm not sure, Don. I hope so. He's such a good baby."

Donnie nodded, turning back to the forums. One parent had suggested that he move out, and another had suggested that he kick Raph out. But they were still family-he couldn't just go up to his brother and tell him to go live somewhere else.

Walking in the door, Raph threw down two tickets to the New York Hall of Science. "Take Leo. I'll watch the little guy," he explained, looking over the tiny baby and his brother.

"Are you crazy? We'll come back and he'll be gone! Or worse!" Leo exclaimed, quickly closing the distance between himself and his brother.

"Actually...someone on the forum said that it may be a good bonding technique," Donnie replied, looking up from his laptop for the first time all morning.

"Well either way, you deserve a few hours to yourself. I was just trying to be nice," Raph said, trying to redeem himself.

"Thanks, Raph. We'll leave in about an hour," Donnie accepted, smiling at his younger brother.

Leo sighed. "Thanks, Raph. That's really thoughtful," he amended, smiling weakly at his brother. He had a bad feeling about leaving Michelangelo with Raphael for even a few minutes, let alone a few hours.

An hour later, after writing out extensive instructions for Raphael, Donnie and Leo were out the door, ready to get to the museum. Mikey was napping in his bassinet, unaware of who would be taking care of him when he woke up.


	6. Chapter 6

Walking through the doors of the New York Hall of Science, Donnie marveled at anything and everything. "This is where I'd like to take Michelangelo when he's older," he said, turning to Leo.

"Speaking of Michelangelo, don't you think we should give him a nickname?" Leo asked, ushering Donnie to the ticket booth and presenting their tickets.

"Ah. Raphael's brothers. Please…enjoy the museum," the man standing at the booth said, waving them past.

"What was up with that?" Donnie wondered quietly, leading Leo towards the interactive brain exhibit.

"You know Raphael as well as I do. He probably muscled his way into those tickets," Leo explained after a brief moment of thinking.

Back at the apartment, Raphael was sitting in a newly acquired rocking chair, gently rocking the baby in his charge to sleep._'You shouldn't have offered to watch the baby,'_ he thought disgustedly, even as Michelangelo sighed happily in his arms, nuzzling into the muscled crook of his elbow.

A pounding at the door startled both him and Michelangelo; the baby began to cry uncontrollably. Quickly grabbing the pacifier from the changing table, Raphael gave it to his nephew, continuing to rock him even as the door was kicked open and three men charged in.

Donnie turned to Leo, stopping in the middle of the Mars Rover exhibit, an uneasy feeling in his stomach. "Maybe we should get back to Raphael and Michelangelo," he said worriedly; it had already been an hour, and Donnie wasn't sure how much longer Raphael could last with Michelangelo.

"I'm sure they're just fine, Don. Enjoy the afternoon. You deserve it. It isn't every day that someone decides to work from home to be a father to a baby that they didn't….well….father." Leo tried calming him down.

"But it's not like I had a choice. He was all alone and I wasn't going to leave him that way."

"According to Raph, there were a lot of things you could have done instead," Leo reminded his younger brother, a smile playing on the raven haired man's lips.

Donnie chuckled. "Yeah, especially taking him to the shelter," he began playfully. "It really bothers me that someone just dumped him….just as easily as if he were an animal and not a human," he continued more seriously, his eyes cast down momentarily before remembering where he was.

"Xever. Bradford. And puny Stockman. Why am I not surprised?" Raphael snarled quietly at the men now standing in his living room. "I heard you were getting pretty friendly with one of my brother's friends," he continued, leveling his gaze at the man standing in the middle.

"You had to know that there was something going on when you overheard them talking about it," Bradford replied dryly. "Xever! Stockman! Take the baby!" he commanded, glaring at Raphael. "Just think, when your brothers get home, he'll be gone and they'll chalk it up to another failure. By you," the other man sneered as his lackeys jumped into action.

Cradling the baby, Raphael quickly deflected the first blows from Stockman, but knew that he couldn't last much longer with the baby in his arms. He had to get him to a safe place.

Leaving the museum, Leo carried a gift store bag full of onesies and toys for Michelangelo. "Do you have any nickname ideas for him?" he asked, glancing sideways at Donnie.

"No. I kind of like Michelangelo just the way it is," Donnie replied as they began their trek home.

Back at the apartment, Raphael quietly and quickly tucked Michelangelo into the lower cabinet of his changing table, surrounding him with diapers so that he wouldn't hurt himself before facing the three men again. Stockman would be easy enough to scare off. The other two, he wasn't so sure about.

Bracing himself, he targeted Stockman, knocking him to the ground in one blow. That was one less person to worry about—although now he could crawl to Michelangelo. _'That's their plan,' he thought suddenly, kicking Stockman square in the temple. Turning to face the other two men that were still conscious, he steeled himself. He'd fought with Bradford before and knew that he didn't take hits as easily as Stockman. "Leave my family alone," he warned._

Ten minutes later, Donnie and Leo approached the door to their apartment tentatively, watching as Raph quietly nailed it back together, the baby sling on and Mikey sleeping peacefully.

"What happened?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Some people wanted to take Mikey away from us, but I showed 'em a lesson," Raphael grunted, never stopping his work.

"Mikey?" Leo asked, looking at Donnie.

"I love it," Donnie replied.

"I guess you were right, Don. He isn't too bad. And anytime you need a sitter….I'm free," Raphael added, aiming a kick backwards as Bradford tried to rise again.

"You've gotta quit bringing work home with you," Leo sighed, forcing his way inside so he could get rid of the intruders, nodding to Donnie to follow him.


	7. Chapter 7

"Are you sure you're going to be okay on your own?" Leo asked Donnie worriedly, for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning.

"Leo, relax. I'm so used to this job I could do it in my sleep," Donnie explained patiently. Leo only wanted him to be prepared, after all.

"But what about Mikey?" Raph asked, yawning.

"He'll be fine, Raph. I promise I can handle this, guys," Donnie explained, glancing down at Mikey, who was busy eating as if his life depended on it.

"I can stay home…"Raph began to offer.

"No! You need to get to your appointment!" Leo exclaimed, his eyes flashing for a split second.

"Fine…" the younger brother grumbled, trudging towards the door.

"I can call in…" Leo began softly.

"Not you too! You need to get to work!" Donnie hissed, pointing adamantly to the door.

Head hung, Leo followed Raph out the door, leaving Donnie and Mikey alone to their domain.

"I can't believe them," Donnie muttered, turning on his computer and putting on the baby sling while it slowly booted up.

Ten minutes later, Donnie heard a beep in his ear; it was his first call of the day. It was his first test.

"Thank you for holding, this is Donatello," he greeted smoothly.

"I can't figure this out!" the elderly female voice on the other end of the line screamed, almost shattering Donnie's eardrum.

"Figure what out, ma'am?" Donnie friendly asked, turning down the volume on his phone as he spoke.

"Everything! My keys aren't typing and the little black oval is just sitting there!"

"Have you turned it on, ma'am?" Donnie asked politely, trying to remain calm. If he were at the office he would have just muted the phone and cursed under his breath. Now he had a baby to think about.

"Of course it's on! What do you take me for?!" the old woman demanded.

"Is your monitor still black, or can you see your desktop?" Donnie asked, regretting it the second the words were out of his mouth.

"My desktop is right in front of me, sonny. It's solid wood. Where do I find my man-eh-tar?" the old woman asked.

"Your monitor will be the screen that you see what's on your computer," Donnie explained, his voice staying level, though it dropped a little bit.

"Oh, the TV screen? It's black."

"Okay. Is it plugged in?" Donnie asked, running his hand through his hair as big blue eyes stared up at him in wonder.

"It needs to be plugged in to work?"

"Yes ma'am. If you plug it in you should be just fine." Donnie explained. It was going to be a long day.

"I plugged it in. Now I can see what I'm doing!" the elder woman exclaimed.

"Great. Now, is your mouse and keyboard working?" Donnie asked.

"Mouse?! Where?" the old woman yelled, and Donnie swore he could hear her leap onto a chair.

"The black oval, ma'am."

"Oh heavens, yes. Thank you, young man," the woman said before hanging up on the brunette.

Sighing, Donnie looked down at Mikey, fast asleep in his sling, and couldn't help but smile.


	8. Chapter 8

Leo hugged Mikey close to him, rocking in the chair that Raph had brought home. It was rare, moments like these, where Leo could rock Mikey to sleep, humming softly under his breath. Donnie was in the other room, working late again. Raph was at another session-after the first one went so well, Leo had demanded that he continue to go to anger management counseling. In the past he had suggested it as well, but Raph had just brushed it off, saying that he couldn't change who he was-and why would he? But after babysitting Mikey, he had to confess that Leo had made a very good point-he had to look out for his nephew now.

Still humming, Leo stood up, putting the now-empty bottle in the sink quietly and putting the baby in his bassinet before grabbing a bottle of water for himself, walking to where Donnie was still hard at work at his desk, his tongue just barely sticking out of his mouth, a surefire way to know that he was concentrating especially hard.

"Whatcha workin' on?" he asked quietly, peering over Donnie's shoulder at line upon line of coding.

"The company's internal structure went down this evening. I'm trying to fix it," Donnie replied, his fingers flying over the keys, not bothering to look up.

"And you're getting paid overtime, right?" Leo asked, his voice making it clear that the desired answer was "yes".

"Well...heh...not exactly..." Donnie replied, one hand rubbing the back of his neck as he spun around and looked sheepishly at his big brother.

"What do you mean 'not exactly'? Don, you know that we need the money..." Leo began quietly.

"I get paid overtime, yes, but not in the traditional sense," Donnie began, quickly averting his eyes. He didn't want Leo to know about the deal that he had made with his boss.

"What. Do. You. Mean." Leo spat, his eyes flashing fire faintly as he stared at his younger brother.

"Well, I get paid the normal overtime fee, but only for an hour and a half. Something like this could take half the night. So, my boss offered me something else, too...in return for doing the work for only an hour and a half worth of overtime, she's offered to...compensate me...in other ways," Donnie replied, gulping.

"WHAT other ways, Donatello?" Leo asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Ummm...she wants to take me to dinner?" Donnie replied weakly, offering a half smile.

"Do you even LIKE her? You have to think about the future, now too, Donnie. You have a son," Leo huffed, turning on his heel and entering his room.

Hanging his head, Donnie slowly went back to work. The system needed to get back online, whether or not Donnie went through with the date.

Half an hour later, the apartment dark except for his desk lamp, Donnie was still at the coding. He heard the sound of the door gently opening, and Raph step inside, his footsteps heavy, although Donnie knew he was trying not to wake Mikey.

"Ow!" Raph hissed in the darkness quietly, his knee catching the corner of an end table.

"Some ninja," Donnie quietly whispered, turning to face Raph.

In the dim light, it looked like Raph was hurt. Flipping on the living room light, Donnie rushed over to Raph, looking him over quickly.

His lip was busted, his nose was bloodied, and a giant purple bruise was beginning to form over his right eye. He had a cut on his cheek and Donnie could tell that it hurt to breathe. Raph's knuckles were bloody, and it looked like he had broken a finger or two.

"What happened?" he asked, pushing his brother into a kitchen chair.

"I got mugged," Raph explained, his words strained.

"Don't talk. Let me take care of you," Donnie instructed, wiping away the blood with a wet washcloth.


	9. Chapter 9

"Please, Raphael, just think about it," Leonardo's voice begged from the other room. As Donatello listened, rocking the blond haired baby back to sleep, he could only hope that it wouldn't escalate into another screaming match.

"Why? What good would it do?" came Raphael's voice from the other room.

"You would heal faster. He can help you, if you'll let him." After quietly waking Leonardo up, Donatello had tried to patch Raphael up. Unfortunately for all of them, the redhead would have none of it.

"And then what? I go back to doing what I was before we had a baby? Are you crazy?"

"You can stop, at any time." Leonardo rebutted.

"No, I can't. Leo, it doesn't work that way. Once you're in, you're in for life. It's almost as bad as being a Purple Dragon. There's no honest work that I can be trusted with." There was an air of defeat in Raph's voice, and Donatello could almost see him looking at the floor in misery.

"Listen, we can help you," Leo pleaded. It was a plea that he had been repeating to his younger brother ever since their father died and Raph had chosen his career path.

"How, Leo? How can you help me?"

"I don't know. But we'll figure something out. It's what brothers do," Leo responded, determination evident in his voice.

"Fine. Send him in. But he better not have Mikey."

"Don! You're up!" Leo called quietly, secretly relishing the fact that he would have some precious moments with his nephew.

Handing the baby to his older brother, Donnie quietly entered Raph's bedroom, lingering near the doorway. "Yes?"

"I-I changed my mind. Can you help me?" Raph's eyes pierced Donnie's own, and the brunette couldn't remember a time where Raph had looked so helpless.

"Of course I can. You have some broken fingers-easy enough to set. You have some broken or cracked ribs-you'll need to stay bandaged up for a while. I'll also wrap your knee-hopefully you didn't do any more damage to it. You'll need an ice pack for your eye and your nose I should be able to pop back into place," Donnie explained as he began to gather his supplies.

Twenty minutes later, Raphael was asleep, thanks to the sleeping pill that Donnie had given him. Everything was set, for the most part. Raph had only barely tolerated his nose being popped back into place, and didn't let Donnie do much setting of his fingers, shooting daggers at his brother every time he was in pain.

"Everything okay?" Leo asked as Donnie walked out of the room and towards his bed.

"For tonight, at least. Do you really think he'll quit the life?" Donnie asked worriedly.

"I don't know, Don. I don't know," Leo responded quietly, clapping his younger brother on the shoulder before retreating to his own room.


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn't long until Raphael was back on his feet. He knew that he couldn't just walk away from his previous life. It wasn't as easy as Donnie and Leo made it seem. Once you were in, you were in for life. Raph normally never slept well when he had the chance—with Donnie and Mikey, it was nearly impossible to get any shut-eye. Lately though, his dreams had been worse than reality. In his dreams, he was bound to Tiger Claw, serving under Shredder. In his waking moments, he had a sinking feeling that his dream was about to become a very frightening nightmare that he couldn't escape.

His brothers didn't notice a change in Raph; he had tried not to tell Leo or Donnie what he had dreamt about. He knew they would only worry. Besides, they would try to make him stay home. He had to do his part for his family…for his brothers.

Snake, on the other hand, noticed. Raphael was not himself. He seemed…distracted, almost as if he was trying to keep his mind off of what he was doing.

"What's eatin' ya?" Snake asked one night when they were sitting on a rooftop, scanning the streets below.

"I'm fine," Raph growled, leaping up as he saw shop lights twinkle out far below. "The shops are closing. Are we gonna make a move?" he asked, eyeing the other man.

"Raphie, Raphie. This ain't my first rodeo," Snake replied, a sickly grin spreading across his face.

"Then let's move," Raph replied dryly, turning away from Snake.

Back at the tiny apartment, Donnie scanned the classifieds, rocking Mikey.

"What are you doing?" Leo asked, walking into the living room, an apron tied around his waist.

"Looking for houses to rent," Donnie replied, his weary eyes meeting Leo's.

"A house? Do you know how expensive those are?!" Leo exclaimed, his eyes widening.

"I'm aware, yes. But we'll need one soon. I think Mikey's almost two months old by now," Donnie explained tiredly, barely stifling a yawn.

"What's wrong with a bigger apartment?" Leo asked, almost dejectedly. He knew that when Donnie set his mind on something, he was like a bulldog, never letting go.

"He'll need a backyard, Leo. Somewhere to play. Maybe a puppy," Donnie replied, his eyes lighting up at the possibilities.

"What if we found an apartment near a park and got him a kitten instead?" Leo tried bargaining.

"Do you want a kitty?" Donnie cooed at the baby in his arms, getting a giggle and spit bubble in return.

"See? He wants a kitten," Leo said proudly.

Sighing, Donnie stood up. "I'll think about it. We'll go see some places this weekend," he promised before retreating to his bed, leaving Leo to his baking.


	11. Chapter 11

Months passed, and the brothers grew into a routine. Donnie would primarily take care of Mikey and Leo would keep him on the weekends, while Don did odd jobs to get some extra money. As for Raphael, he took night duty. The first time he sat up on his own, he was six months old. He began to be able to roll over at seven months.

Donnie had diligently recorded each moment, his phone proudly displaying videos and photos of a chunky baby, smiling widely, his eyes shining bright. It was a lazy weekend that it happened. Leo was in the kitchen, making a late brunch. It was also a rare weekend; Don was home, as was Raph. Raph was watching TV, and Don was reading a scientific journal. Baby Mikey was on his stomach on the living room floor, babbling happily. He had been trying to crawl for a month a half, but so far hadn't gotten anywhere. He had been teething since he could sit up on his own, and this Saturday he was chewing on a frozen teething toy.

It wasn't very exciting at first, just raising himself to his hands and knees and overbalancing, falling and then giggling his infectious giggle. Raph noticed it first. A commercial had come on and he was watching Mikey's determination, a smile on his face. A lot had changed in the past months. He no longer associated with his old cronies, had begun working as a private security guard.

Mikey was balanced on all fours, perfectly balanced. He swayed only a little, as babies are prone to do. By the time he hit Donnie hard enough in the arm for the older brother to notice, Mikey was in the kitchen, sitting beside Leo.

"I missed it?! He crawled for the first time and I MISSED IT?!" Donnie exclaimed in disbelief.

Laughing, Leo picked up the baby and carried him back into the living room. Somehow, they all knew that they would be doing this…a lot. The blond haired baby would keep them on their toes.

"He's already faster than you!" Raph teased, grinning at Donnie. Mikey giggled in response, and all three brothers smiled at each other. Mikey had been bringing them together in ways that they hadn't imagined possible, not since they were kids themselves.


End file.
